LIFE Secrets of the Vatican

Mini-state, magnificent museum, nerve center of a globe-girdling church, the Vatican is a magnet for millions of people every year. LIFE's cameras capture the opulence, and the spirituality. Learn more about:

The Popes who reigned there: the good, the great and the bad.
The treasure trove that is the Vatican MuseumThe Sistine Chapel: Michelangelo's storied ceiling before and after its restoration
The new world of Pope Francis